Look at the title of the book to the right. My First Days in the White House. Now look at the author: Huey Pierce Long. Not a president you recognize? That's because he wasn't president -- but the populist firebrand governor of Louisiana who was revered and reviled in equal amounts had the ambition and audacity to outline his destiny in this 146-page book published in 1935. But destiny had other ideas. Long was assassinated the same year the book was published. The book, by the way, is among the things that have been found at the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library Big Book Sale, which starts today (Thursday) and continues through the weekend, further enabling the highest order of biblio-gluttony.
Volunteers have been laying out enough books that the space hosts more knowledge than the great Library of Alexandria, or your mobile device (we don't know which holds more). On Sunday, the price of each item will drop to a buck or less. Of course, much of the knowledge on display could take the form of Dan Brown's lunkheaded conspiracies (Da Vinci Code, anyone?) or The Cat Who Solved Gentle, Bloodless Murders.
But dig, and you'll find gold -- or at least amusing crap. For example:
With the 27th annual Folsom Street Fair happening on Sunday, the big question is, "What are you going to wear?" Folsom is one of the largest fashion events in San Francisco, and whether you're a spectator or a leather aficionado, you're undoubtedly going to plan your outfit before you go. With almost no knowledge of proper leather attire -- my closest frame of reference is Alexander McQueen's Fall/Winter 2009 collection -- I turned to some buff babes in the leather community to show me the ropes (and other kinky gear).
My guides were leather pro and booking manager EJ (Gehno) Sanchez, go-go dancer Jason Urso, and porn star Leo Forte of Kink.com and Raging Stallion fame.
Click through for some valuable dos and don'ts from the boys.
We recently sat down with Jonah Hill at the Ritz-Carton San Francisco to talk about his quiet but pivotal role as a statistician in the feature film Moneyball, which stars Brad Pitt and opens tomorrow (Sept. 23). The unlikely movie, based on the 2003 book by Michael Lewis, talks about the Oakland Athletics' use of sabermetrics, a statistical analysis of players that is a departure from conventional baseball wisdom. It is a moving departure for Hill, who came to fame through bold comedic films such as Knocked Up and Superbad, and it's an important junction in a flourishing career.
Were you a baseball fan before you landed this role?
When I was younger, I played baseball and collected baseball cards like any red-blooded American kid does, and then I grew up to be more of a basketball fan. When I got this part, I really reconnected with baseball in an intense way.
And the A's, was that a team that you had to familiarize yourself with at that point?
I now consider myself an Oakland A, basically. After making this movie, it's really special now that we are here after touring the country. I feel like whenever I come back to Oakland, if I go to a game, I really feel a kinship because I was a part of something that really celebrated this team.
It's 1920s Paris. It's 1940s and 1960s San Francisco. It's deviant, luscious, drag-a-licious, and as witty as it is outlandish. And it's gore -- lots of gore. It's Thrillpeddlers' Shocktoberfest!! 12: Fear Over Frisco, and it starts this weekend at the Hypnodrome.
This dedicated little theater troupe that draws members from various sectors of queer, drag, and burlesque scenes seems to get stronger as time goes on. It has made a Halloween-season tradition of emulating short plays from the Theater of the Grand Guignol, a 1920s Parisian troupe whose aim was to shock and overwhelm audiences with graphic subject matter and props. In recent years it has enlisted the help of Scrumbly Koldewyn, an original member of the Cockettes, an absurdist gender-bending company from the late 1960s and early '70s. This year it adds San Francisco "czar of noir" Eddie Muller.
"You may say I'm a streamer, but I'm not the only one."
With all the options available for Netflix streaming, (or whatever it's called now) it's hard to find a movie sometimes. You may only have time to watch one or two, but there are thousands to browse through. I'm picking out some of the hidden gems, often movies that are hard to find or not available on DVD. -- Bucky Sinister
I don't know why Sonny Chiba never achieved the name recognition on the list of movie fighters somewhere above David Carradine and Jean-Claude Van Damme. He's not the best, he doesn't capture the imagination like Bruce Lee, or look as good onscreen as Clint Eastwood, but he's really enjoyable. You've probably seen him as Hanzo in Kill Bill, but it's The Street Fighter, original title Gekitotsu! Satsujin ken, that brought him to prominence many years earlier.
This guy I'm casually seeing -- he doesn't even live in the same state -- asked me to send him a dirty picture via text. I was reluctant at first, but after some hemming and hawing, I sent him a cleavage shot that didn't include my face. Now, though, I feel kind of weird about it. I don't really want this to become a habitual thing. Am I being a prude here?
~Wary
No, you're not. I know it can feel like everyone is sexting and sending dirty pictures and making sex tapes -- I mean, it's practically a high school graduation requirement these days. It also doesn't help that such "news" is often splashed all over the various news media. For instance, there was the recent Scarlett Johansson nude picture leak, and that congressman who resigned over a TwitDick scandal, then lost his Democratic seat to a Republican. What was his name again? Anthony Schlong?
The bottom line is that it's your body. You can do whatever you want with it, but if something makes you uncomfortable, you also have every right to tell that guy to fuck off. No exceptions. You don't even have to give him a reason, other than "I don't want to." Even if it's something most would consider a norm, or no big deal.
